Celtic and Rangers go head-to-head again today in the classic Scottish football match-up that gets everyone talking one way or another. The intensity and spectacle of the Old Firm Derby hasn’t faded in recent years despite the two teams not exactly being on equal footing in terms of success.
The match takes place at Celtic Park this time around, the scene of the Hoops’ 5-1 drubbing of the Gers earlier in the season, a day that most Rangers fans would like to forget.
Brendan Rodgers’ men have also won the other two fixtures against the Ibrox side this season, at Hampden and at the Gers’ stadium itself.
There hasn’t always been a one-sided nature to the rivalry, indeed just last season underdogs Rangers put the Hoops out of the Scottish Cup with a semi-final victory at the national stadium.
They have a long and storied rivalry and it’s often a fixture that produces outstanding goals.
Here are SIX such beauties that have lit up this derby down the years…
Shaun Maloney – 09/11/2005
This Shaun Maloney drive in the 2005/06 Scottish League Cup is one of those goals that Celtic fans enjoy watching again and again. There’s something about the way the ball, in almost slow motion, floats into the top corner of the net past a helpless goalkeeper that is pleasing to the eye.
The Bhoys, in Gordon Strachan’s first season, would go on to win the tournament along with the Scottish Premier League title and set up a period of significant success under the management of the current Scotland boss.
If we see a goal that’s half as good from either side today then we’ll be very lucky indeed.
Jorg Albertz – 02/01/1997
“No doubt Albertz will fancy it with the hammer,” Andy Gray says at the start of this video and boy did he fancy it. Well known for his rocket free-kicks, this one in particular is the one that no Rangers fan can or will forget.
Rangers were going for a famous nine-in-a-row and after years of basically no challenge, Celtic were finally up for the fight this season and this goal was a vital part of the Gers’ league winning campaign. This gave them a big lead in the New Year’s derby at Ibrox in a match they would go on to win 3-1 thanks to a late double from Erik Bo Anderson.
The Hammer struck again.
Henrik Larsson – 27/08/2000
The sheer majesty of Henrik Larsson’s chip of Stefan Klos in 2000 has made this goal one of the most iconic for Celtic fans of a certain generation. It was of course part of a game dubbed the ‘Demolition Derby’, a thrashing that supporters wouldn’t see for another 16 years until Brendan Rodgers and Moussa Dembele turned up.
The 6-2 game announced the Hoops’ arrival as force to be reckoned with as the new century dawned and Martin O’Neill took the task on of revitalising the Bhoys after a serious lack of success over the previous decade. In isolation it’s one to savour but in context it’s even better.
Barry Ferguson – 04/05/2002
In one of the most exciting Scottish Cup Finals in history, Barry Ferguson’s goal probably stands above the lot.
Celtic were ahead twice in the match thanks to John Hartson and Bobo Balde but were pegged back once by Peter Lovenkrands and then again by this sumptuous Ferguson free-kick that sailed past Robert Douglas. Lovenkrands bagged a famous late winner to deliver the trophy and send Rangers fans delirious.
That season Celtic won the league but Rangers lifted both cups under Alex McLeish, the springboard for what would be incredible success the next season when they would win a domestic treble of trophies in a time when Martin O’Neill’s side were at the very peak of their powers.
Moussa Dembele – 23/10/2016
This goal brings us right up to date for Celtic and we should note honourable mentions for the likes of Kris Commons and Shunsuke Nakamura in years prior to 2016, but this Moussa Dembele goal perhaps sums up what an amazing season Celtic are currently having.
The young Frenchman’s cheeky back-heel flick through the legs of two Rangers players came in the closing minutes of a massive League Cup semi-final, a competition the Hoops would go on to win.
Had it gone to extra-time it’s anyone’s guess how it would’ve ended up and as such is perhaps one of the most important goals under Brendan Rodgers reign as Celtic boss so far.
Barrie McKay – 17/04/2016
For Rangers, this is the last great moment they enjoyed against Celtic and it came in last season’s Scottish Cup semi-final. With the game deadlocked at 1-1, up popped Barrie McKay to rocket home a goal that would give them a vital lead in extra-time.
Tom Rogic would ultimately level matters, but this moment is one of the greatest in recent Rangers memory, especially since they went on to win the match on penalties.
It’s this sort of goal from McKay that Rangers fans will be dreaming of as we head into today’s match. Can the young winger bang in another classic?